Architecture Decision English: Phrases for Design Discussions
5 exercises — proposing technical approaches, expressing trade-offs, agreeing with conditions, pushing back respectfully, and summarising consensus in architecture decision discussions.
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You want to propose using an event-driven architecture in a design meeting. Which phrase is MOST effective?
Proposing a technical approach: State the proposal clearly, give the key benefit with specifics, and offer to elaborate. Option B names the pattern, identifies the specific benefit (decoupling two named services), and the outcome (independent deployment/scaling). Avoid over-hedging (Option D) or making bald assertions without reasoning (Options A, C).
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You are explaining a trade-off in an architecture discussion. Which phrase BEST expresses a trade-off?
Trade-off language: Name the option explicitly (gRPC), state the concrete benefit ('strong typing and efficient binary serialisation'), name who benefits ('mobile clients'), then pivot with 'The trade-off is...' and name the specific cost. This pattern lets listeners quickly weigh the decision. Option B follows this structure precisely.
3 / 5
You agree with a proposed approach but have one condition. Which phrase BEST expresses conditional agreement?
Conditional agreement language: 'I'm on board with X, with one condition' is a professional way to express support with a caveat. Option B clearly names what you agree with (microservices) and the specific condition (boundary definitions first), plus explains the consequence of ignoring it (integration complexity). This is collaborative and constructive — not blocking, but ensuring quality.
4 / 5
A colleague proposes building a custom authentication service. You think this is risky. Which push-back phrase is MOST professional?
Respectful push-back: Name that you are pushing back ('I want to push back'), give a concrete reason (auth is high-risk, mistakes are costly), and offer an alternative framing ('Could we explore...?'). This is assertive without being dismissive. Option B invites exploration rather than shutting down the proposal — leaving room for the colleague to defend their position if they have strong reasons.
5 / 5
The architecture discussion is concluding. Which phrase BEST summarises the consensus reached?
Summarising consensus: A strong summary restates the decision with specifics (Kafka, order flow), any conditions (spike before rollout), open questions and their owners (Artem, synchronous fallback), and the next documented step (ADR by EOW). Ending with 'Does that capture it accurately?' gives the group a chance to correct any misunderstanding before everyone leaves the meeting.